LA Rams: 3 Veteran free agents who could plug holes immediately
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by Holden Cantor
With the 2021 NFL draft now officially over, the LA Rams can now assess where they’re at in terms of depth. By selecting no offensive lineman, only one pass rusher, and one linebacker, it seems the Rams are pretty confident with what they have in-house. Yes, the LA Rams did sign two undrafted rookies who can fill out some depth in 2021, but nobody expects UDFAs to contribute this year.
That means that the Rams shouldn’t be done with the additions. In fact, the team is only at 89 players for the 90-man roster limit. Is another move imminent? The Super Bowl window is now, and there’s still a ton of talent out there who are still unsigned.
Per overthecap.com, the Rams have about $7 million in 2021 salary cap space and that’s more than enough to get one of these players to sign. I went ahead and reviewed the current depth chart and these three players could make a whole lot of sense for this upcoming super bowl run.
1. DE Ryan Kerrigan
The Rams opted to select only one true pass rusher in the 2021 NFL draft and that player was the outside linebacker named Chris Garrett from Concordia-St. Paul. Garrett has a lot to prove coming into the NFL and it could take some time for him to truly develop. The Rams are also relying on guys who are returning from 2020 like veteran outside linebackers Ogbo Okoronkwo and Terrell Lewis to take that next step, which they could but they need to be careful with the injury history of both. The Rams also let Morgan Fox walk and sign with the Carolina Panthers, a move that could’ve been a great depth signing for the Rams.
With that being said, head coach Sean McVay has familiarity with four-time pro bowl defensive end, Ryan Kerrigan, from their time in Washington. He’s a player who could fill that depth piece on the line that Fox provided while providing good veteran leadership to the young guys. Not to mention he still has plenty of gas left in the tank as far as play goes. With Aaron Donald taking up the double and triple teams that he does, I could see Kerrigan accruing over eight sacks with the Rams for the season.
2. Center Austin Reiter
The Rams offensive staff instilled a vote of confidence in the offensive linemen currently on the Rams roster by not selecting a center in the 2021 draft. The Rams decided to pass on high-profile offensive center prospects such as Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey and Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Quinn Meinerz, so they must think a few of the guys in-house are versatile enough to push to center. With Austin Blythe walking in free agency to sign on with the Kansas City Chiefs, Austin Reiter is a player who has plenty of experience in a prolific offense.
He’s been with the Kansas City Chiefs for the past three years and proved to be a reliable player for Patrick Mahomes on the offensive line. He also started all 16 games for the Chiefs in their super bowl winning year. If the Rams still feel like they need to develop their guards a little more for the center position, Reiter is a guy who can come in and start day one while being a perfect bridge to who they plan to be the eventual starting center for years to come.
3. LB K.J. Wright
The Rams were ecstatic after drafting LB Ernest Jones out of South Carolina and they’re also going to be getting back LB Travin Howard from injury this season. After being a nightmare for the Rams for the past decade, the stud LB K.J. Wright is now a free agent. With all his experience and familiarity with the NFC West, I think it’s a no-brainer that the Rams take a flyer on him. Especially with our depth at the position. Some critics say with his age he has lost a step, but that’s not the case.
Wright is still flying around that Seattle defense and stopping players in the backfield with ease. Plus, with the Seattle Seahawks not re-signing him, it could be extra motivation for Wright to win a super bowl with a different team in the same division. Wright isn’t a player who’s going to take a discount (and he shouldn’t), but the Rams have the money to go get him. He’s played in super bowls before and knows what it takes to win the big game. If the Hawks won’t re-sign him, the Rams should be all over it.
